The vendors of the house we are purchasing hired a conveyancing practitioner in Wokingham who has insisted on a lock out agreement with a deposit 6,000. Is it wise to enter into such agreements?

This type of agreement is unusual in Wokingham, conveyancers will often try and steer clients away from them as they divert attention from the main conveyancing focus and if you end up having your deposit forfeited then the lawyer at best left with an upset client and at worst a litigious one. Furthermore, there is no assurance that just because the seller has signed a lock out contract they will complete the sale with you. They may be inclined to break the contract if they are offered sufficient incentive to do so because an aggrieved claimant with the benefit of a exclusivity agreement will still be duty bound to establish consequential losses from the breach and this may not amount to the extra amount that the owner may gain by reneging on the agreement, no matter how morally shameful the behaviour is.

We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to instruct their panel conveyancer as I would much rather appoint a Wokingham based conveyancing firm?

You should check but the the likelihood is that appoint one of their panel lawyers where you take up the "fee-free" offer. Speak to the lender and ask if they make available a monetary alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as a further option in which case you could put that amount towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor near Wokingham.

I have recentlyfound out that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Wokingham for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I establish that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest way to check if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Wokingham conveyancing specialists.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Wokingham before appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks tend not grant a mortgage on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Halifax. If you call us we can check via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Wokingham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Wokingham to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Wokingham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? What is the the remaining lease term? What is the name of the managing agents?